Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-02-19
Contiseued from Page s

delicate conformation Of its roots, leaves
and capsula without admiration Can
that Being, thought |, VINO planted, water
ed. and brought to perfection, IN this OBJ
scure part of the world, a thing which ap-
pears Of so small Impotence, look with
unconcern upon the situation and suffer
ings of creatures formed after his own i'm
age? Surely not! Reflections like these
would not allow me to despair. | started
up and disregarding both hunger and IA
tigue, travelled forward, assured that re-
lief was a hand: and I was not ~disappoint-
ed"
He soon fell in with two shepherds who
took him to Sibidooloo, where lie was
kindly received by the ans (chief COVER
nor) who promised that his stolen property
should be recovered for him, which it
eventually was. This incident occurred
during Parks first travels in Africa 1196)
He saw the Niger at that time and drank
of its waters and he actually ,miruaclously,
we might say, got back to the coast again
and sailed from Pisanla, arriving in Lon
don before daylight on Christmas day,
1897, where he was greeted with JOY by
many friends who had given him up as
dead. Thus, we may attribute his final
perseverance and success under the most
dismal circumstance to the effect of the
contemplation Of a little moss coupled
with a firm belief in the goodness of God.
The moss that he saw, he put in his hat
with his notes and it is at this day in the
possession of the authors of one Of The
most celebrated Of British botanical works.
1t was a variety of FG;ssidens bryoides,
Wilson.
And now we will mention one Montana
moss and that is Fissidens grandifrons.
This moss belongs to the same genus as
the one noticed by DR.. Mungo Park and
grows il the Giant Springs. 1t is when in
perfection, a lovely moss. 1t may be
known at once by its fiat fronds or stems.
The leaves overlap at the base and lie
quite flat, making the two edges Of the
frond look like the teeth Of a saw. The
color varies. but it is usually a rich, sap
green. These plants soon lose their beau
ty when removed from the water, turning
black. Their fruit has never yet been dis
covered.
.:There you may look beneath the waters
SweetIv gliding, or serene,
For one Of beauty's lovely daughters,
Lovely, though of hnmble mein;
And where the stream in childish glee
Leaps DER the rocks in infant pride
This little moss, in eddying swirl
OF foamy waves, its head doth hide"
Moses are not only pleasing to the eye
and suggestive Of happy thoughts to the
mind but many Of them are Of great use
in various parts of the world. In certain
portions of the Arctic regions where but
little vegetation occurs MOSES and
lichens, apparently growing out Of the
hard black rocks, there is a moss used for
lamp wicks and another kind is made into
a sour which is said to be a very good ar
ticle of diet. In Doggy countries several
kinds of MOSES occur belonging to the
genus sphagnum (Bog moss which grow
in the water, possessing no roots except
while quite young and obtaining sustain
anee through the imbibitions Of their
leaves. When they have grown they de-
tach from the mud and float in dense
masses. Dirt, leaves, sticks, sand and 9th
er debris coupled with the partial decay
Of their lower parts makes the masses
somewhat solid. Seeds of grasses and
other plants fall upon this floating mass,
terminate, and strike root in every direc-
ton and 10, and behold new ground is
evolved from what was originally only
marsh and quagmirs. Thousands of acres
have been reclaimed through the agency
of these combining influences alone. Then
the fuel of the poor, and the rich too, in
some parts of Europe is made of peat cut
into cakes and dried and, what is peat?
Neither more or less than dense masses OF
those same moses that have been pressed
down by the weight above and formed into
compact beds Of brown fibres. These
plants in decaying give of a certain acid
that keeps them and anything that is i'm
bedded with them from actual decay, for
once this active principle is set free into
the water it permeates every dead sub
stance and prevents further decomposition.
It is. in fact, the active principle OF tannin
such as is found in the oak bark used by
the tanners. Through this preserving
oa+,ar- sd ho,au IF tho Jrich